Five Reasons to Discipline Your Child

Just as our children need our hugs and our affirmation, they also need to know what the parameters are, as well as the ramifications for crossing them. That, too, is love.

It has been said the cure for crime is not in the electric chair; it is in the high chair. Start early. Love your children by disciplining them.

The Bible tells us we should discipline our children. Here are five reasons:

1. We discipline our children to remove foolishness. Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.”
2. We discipline our children to rescue them from judgment. Proverbs 23:13–14 tells us, “Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. Physical discipline may well save them from death” (NLT).
3. We discipline our children to give them wisdom. According to Proverbs 29:15, “To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child” (NLT).
4. We discipline our children to relieve our anxiety. As Proverbs 29:17 says, “Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul.”
5. We discipline our children so they might reflect God’s character. Hebrews 12:10–11 says, “For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way” (NLT).

Know this: God will hold us accountable one day. He has given us this charge, this responsibility. It isn’t optional. God has commanded us as parents to bring our children up in the training and admonition of the Lord.